Configuring the software for VoIP-based operation

When working in a VoIP environment, VentaFax acts as a client application communicating with an IP telephony server (SIP or H.323). IP telephony servers may be purely corporate (serving the needs of a specific company) or public (providing access to IP telephony services to everyone for a fee).

If you have access to a corporate IP telephony system (you may have heard terms like IP-PBX, softswitch and so on), contact the IP server administrator for help with VentaFax configuration. Certain aspects of this process for particular systems are explained below.

Organizations providing access to IP telephony services for a fee are called Internet telephony service providers (ITSP), VoIP (or FoIP) telephony service providers or simply Internet telephony services. Many Internet service providers (ISP) own an IP telephony server and offer these services as well. However, there are services that focus exclusively on Internet telephony – such as callcentric.com (www. callcentric.com), for instance.

In order to work via an ITSP server, you will need to activate the service (as a rule, sign up on the provider’s website), get your account details for connecting to the server (login, password, sometimes a few additional parameters). After that, you will need to enter these details in the program. Some providers offer (as part of a service package or as an extra option) a phone number for incoming calls. This number is often used as your account login. Examples of VentaFax configurations for connecting to the servers of some VoIP providers are given below.

Creating an account

In the settings window, open the IP telephony – Accounts tab. Click the Add button and fill out the following fields in the new window.

Name. Enter any text – for instance, your provider’s name.

SIP server host name or IP address. Specify the name of the server the program will connect to (or its IP address). This information is usually provided by the server (or ISTP) administrator. For instance, callcentric.com if you are using Callcentric.

Port. The default value is 5060. Do not change unless absolutely necessary.

SIP ID or user name. Enter the SIP ID or login that you received.

Password. Enter the password you received.

Authentication name. Specify this parameter if it’s provided in the instructions you received.

Outbound proxy server. Specify this parameter if it’s provided in the instructions you received.

Local address. If you computer has several network interfaces, specify the IP address of the one that should be used for communication with the IP telephony server.

Protocol. Select the protocol that the program will use to exchange data with the provider. SIP is used by default.

Maximum number of simultaneous connections. This value may be less or equal to the number of lines. Not all IP telephony servers support simultaneous connections.

Disable T.38 protocol. Some providers and corporate IP telephony systems do not support the T.38 protocol. In such cases, "passthrough" fax transmission via the G.711 voice codec is used. As a rule, this transmission method is selected automatically. However, in a number of situations it is advised to forcefully disable the use of the T.38 protocol with the help of this option.